The primary purpose for performing resistance exercise is to develop a stronger musculoskeletal system. The main reason for doing aerobic activity is to develop a healthier cardiorespiratory system.

Wayne L. Westcott

The primary purpose for performing resistance exercise is to develop a stronger musculoskeletal system. The main reason for doing aerobic activity is to develop a healthier cardiorespiratory system.

In addition to looking better, feeling better and functioning better, people who schedule regular strength and endurance exercise sessions experience a reduced risk of numerous degenerative processes, illnesses and infirmities.

A partial list of these exercise benefits include less likelihood of high resting blood pressure, high total cholesterol, high LDL cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood sugar, inefficient gastro-intestinal transit, lower back pain, upper back pain, arthritis, metabolic syndrome, sarcopenia, osteopenia, obesity, heart disease, stroke, several types of cancer, general frailty and depression.

Some new studies provide even more evidence that both strength and endurance training should be standard lifestyle components. In fact, there is no better way to prevent or reverse the effects of aging than properly performed physical activity.

Medical researchers at MacMaster University in Canada placed older men and women who were approximately 70 years of age on a sensible program of resistance exercise for a period of six months. Before and after the study, they analyzed almost 200 genes related to muscle tissue and energy production.

The researchers discovered that the genetic characteristics of the muscle mitochondria reversed to be like those found in young men and women of approximately 25 years of age. In other works, a standard strength-training program –– 10 exercises, three days a week –– changed the muscle mitochondria (cell powerhouse) of older adults to function similar to that of young adults. While this may not qualify as the fountain of youth, the fact that regular strength training can prompt advantageous gene reversal should be a compelling reason to begin resistance exercise.

An equally impressive study was conducted on the mental effects of aerobic activity in older adults. Researchers at the University of Illinois assigned 120 men and women in their 60s to either a walking program for three days a week or a stretching program for three days a week.

Participants were assessed before and after the one-year exercise program for brain (hippocampus) volume and memory. Older adults typically lose 1 to 2 percent in hippocampus volume each year, which is undesirable and associated with memory loss.

The 60 study subjects who did only stretching exercises experienced a 1.4 percent decrease in their hippocampus volume. However, the 60 study subjects who performed the walking program experienced a 2 percent increase in their hippocampus volume. Furthermore, the increases in brain volume were related to improvements in memory.

While it has long been assumed that brain shrinkage is an irreversible aspect of aging, this research indicates that hippocampus volume can actually be augmented in older adults by means of regular aerobic activity.

Based on the findings from these studies, it would seem prudent to perform a combined program of strength and endurance exercise. Consistent with the research protocols and the recommendations of the American College of Sports Medicine, I suggest that you do 20 to 30 minutes of strength training three days a week and 20 to 30 minutes of endurance exercise three days a week.

The important point is to get started as soon as possible with a complementary program of standard strength training and your favorite aerobic activity like walking, cycling or swimming.

Wayne L. Westcott, Ph.D., teaches exercise science at Quincy College in Massachusetts. He has written 24 books on physical fitness.